Harpoon Rauchfetzen is the 25th offering from our 100 Barrel Series. We used beechwood smoked malt from Bamberg, Germany to craft this copper-colored ale that evokes Rauchfetzen, a poetic German word meaning “wisp of smoke.” While many smoked beers are heavy on the pallet, this beer allows the character of the smoked malt to play off the herbal bitterness of Hallertau hops and the fresh, bread-like quality of Munich and Pilsner malts. Enjoy this beer with a variety of cheeses and sausages.

This brew is a sandy brown color, cloudy with a slight off-white head and decent lacing. The aroma is a beautiful mellow sweet malt with smoky edges with yeasty candy apple caramel. Really nice and pretty unique. The mouth meets piney malt with clove hints and gentle smoke. It's deep and mellow with hop bite in a medium bodied brew with smooth carbonation and plenty drinkable. Good stuff. (391 characters)

Served in a tulip glass. Pours a pretty light color for the style--just a moderate golden color with a light head and a touch of lacing. The nose is pretty nice without going too far in one direction. Typical of the style, this is smoky and meaty and reminds me a bit of a summer barbeque. Taste is just a bit too one dimensional to justify moving up the score much, though I will say it's pretty decent. it doesn't have much beyond light smoke, though. Feel is nice and the smokey meat takes over. Drinks fairly well, but I prefer the German versions of the style. (587 characters)

22 oz. bottle. OG 15.5 degrees Plato, brewed with Munich, pilsner and beech-smoked malt, hopped to 33 IBUs with Hallertau and Brewer's Gold. Packaged 10/31/08, sampled November '08. Pours a crystal-clear amber, with lots of carbonation and an inch of fluffy white head that leaves decent lacing. In the nose it's sweet Bamberg malt, some graininess and a light metallic twang. Similar flavor, with a bit of hops, Harpoon house yeast, some spicy/peppery notes, and a touch too much bitterness for the style. It is pretty light on the palate, with medium carbonation and a bone-dry finish. Compared to a classic rauchbier, this one simply falls flat. The house yeast just isn't clean enough for this beer, as it is competing with the smoke flavor for dominance when it should just step aside completely. It's also a bit too strong for the style - I can taste fruity and isopropyl notes from some higher alcohols. While not a true rauchbier, it's really not that bad, but it probably needs a few months to develop into a decent smoked ale. (1,036 characters)

Drinkability: well this beer is interesting, I'm new to Rauchfetzen's, it's a complex beer for sure. I'm not sure what to think really I don't think I would drink this that often, its an occasional beer, but it would be interesting to try while eating beef jerky or steak. (715 characters)

Appearance: Poured from a 22oz bomber into a tasting glass, light golden/orange color, with a head that doesn't have much retention or legs.

Smell: Smells like a box of pops, it has a sweet grainy scent with a tiny bit of malt, i mean the cereal is sugar and corn so why not. The smoke picks up after aeration and leaves a tiny trace of malt.

Taste: The smokiness is there, not overpoweringly so and combines nice with the german hops. Never had a rauch beer but from the title I would expect this is the intent to have some smoke. Almost has a smoked flavor like a stick of beef jerky or a pig ear. Its not terrible but somewhat surprising. It doesn't taste like roasted malts but rather spicy and smokey like a campfire. A barbecue in a bottle really with a hint of almost barbecue sauce mixed with the smokey meat and cheese.

Mouthfeel: Somewhat rough at the first taste but has a distinct lingering bitterness.

Drinkability: Surprisingly I think this would go great with a heavy red meat dish or even barbecue cuisine since it has such prevalent tastes.

Overall: Like the cereal aroma i'll have to play off the common slogan "gotta have my rauch". A surely welcomed unique taste in my book. (1,199 characters)

A. Pours from a 22oz bomber into a pint glass. Copper/orange in color with a lasting head and retention.

S. Bready and biscuity nose. Sweet malt is also noted.

T. Bitter hops on the forefront, falls back to a malty body with just a hint of smoke. As it warms this smoky aspect lingers longer. Piney hops are still apparent in the flavor. A hint of cured meat, this would pair perfectly with bbq style cuisine.

M. Medium bodied with a healthy carbonation. Smoked malt sticks with me as I drink away.

D. This Rauchbier tastes pretty good, drinks pretty good, but is not overly memorable. Would have liked a bigger smoke factor, but its still a good brew. (657 characters)

A - Poured a light copper bordering on deep gold. Head was smooth white with lots of tiny bubbles.

S - Hint of smoke, slightly sweet, tiny malt aroma.

T - This was a very underpowered yet very balanced Rauch beer. The taste wasn't of a bad liquid smoke (good thing). It wasn't overly smoky, but you definately knew it was there. There was some sweetness as in the aroma, and also a touch of spiciness (yeast?). Clean crisp aftertaste (a touch of smoke lingers, but not much and nothing too long)

M - Smooth & slick

D - Excellent! Definately the mellow balance of flavors and that kiss of smoke, make this go down well. Too well. Not overly filling, and very clean.

Overall very good. While I like my Rauch beers a little more smoky, this has great balance, and I'll be picking up alot more. (795 characters)

A - Sniftered. The body is a deep copper with a nice amount of bubbles rolling through it. The head is a creamy cap of foam, about 1 and a half fingers thick. Genuinely appetizing. Decent lacing.

S - A decent heap of smoked malts, german hops. Smell is much of a Rauch-light, almost. Understated, yet refined. Big yeast notes as it warms.

T - Well, it's interesting. It's got a very distinct smokiness, without bashing you over the head, and it has a very long aftertaste. While it's not liquid bacon, it definitely has it's moments of campfire and pig ear. Most of the smoked beers I've had were using roastier malts and this is a different change of pace. It comes off as a smoky pale ale. Definite spicy and herbal notes on the back end.

M - I'm pleased with the carbonation, as it's big, but doesn't seem overdone. The body as well is rather thin, but it works.

D - It's easy to get down, just not terribly exciting, or standout. I won't miss it when my glass is empty.

Notes: I'm not that into Rauchbiers to begin with, so you can discount this review to your liking. However, this beer, as a one-off, is quite worth a try. It's not necessarily my thing, but it very well might be yours.

For some reason it reminds me of a bad Kuhnhenn experiment. (1,258 characters)

This beer poured an orange body with a thick white head. There were some small chunks in the body as it poured out that looked like remittents of pellet hops.

Nose was very clean and malty with a very mild, but extremely distinct, mild smoked rauch malt smell. Just very faint hints of smoke, but equally present as the malt. A session rauch smell if you will.

Taste is light to medium bodied. At very you get some nice carmel and bready malts, but it's quickly followed by a nice subtle, yet very present meaty smokey flavor. Smoked gouda cheese, ham, very mild bacon fat, touches of BBQ sauce. I don't want to give the wrong impression, this is very much a mild session rauch. In no way is the aecht schlekerla over the top meat taste. Hops and bitterness are kept to a bare minimum only giving a mild touch of earth bitterness to balance against the smoked malt. In all honesty it's so perfectly balanced you barely notice anything, but if you took it away it'd leave a huge hole. Ends with a very simply lingering bitterness and subtle smoke.

Overall, a surprisingly good Rauch. Like I've mentioned it's not one of those over the top German ones we're used to. A nice American Session take on a German classic. (1,217 characters)

Out of a bomber bottle this beer was a hazy copper color with some tangerine highlights. The one-finger of off-white head retained well and left good lacing. The aroma was semi-sweet and fresh with floral hops, crystal malt and hints of apples. The flavors were interesting, light caramel malt and sweet malt followed by bitter and peppery/spicy hops. The spice was distinct and almost intrusive. The long finish had some lingering smoke notes. The mouthfeel was a bit rough, the body medium and the carbonation prickly which added to the spicy notes. Not bad, but weird. (571 characters)

I am extremely pleased with this beer. Great head retention with lacing. Great whiffs of hops some sweet malt and a little bit of smokiness. Reminiscence of talisker scotch but not as pungent. The hops were outstanding with some beautiful mouthfulls of green tea. The malt was slightly sweet like caramel. The bitterness was kept in check. A exceptionally balanced beer! Definitely worth seeking out. A great effort by the brewer. Looking forward to more of these!! (465 characters)

This is the first of a Rauchbier that I've tried and I am quite ready for more!This beer pours a clear lighter copper color with a 2 finger white rocky head to it. Decent head retention though not much lacing to speak of. Nose has a fantastic smokiness dominates (but not overpowering) and mingles nicely with the spiced hops, and bready malts that are in the background. Taste follows suit with the nose - the smokiness dominates but enhances the bready malts, and hops which still come shining through and are mixed nicely with the smoked flavoring. This is a lighter to medium bodied beer, crisp feel and clean finish, not filling at all. If you like smoked beers, this is one that you can sit with for a long time. (719 characters)

Pale tangelo with buttercup borders. A handful of slow bubble streams can be seen rising to a wonderful looking crown that resembles vanilla mousse. There's enough stickiness to result in some pretty good looking lace on the upper reaches of the glass.

Harpoon Brewery went to the trouble of acquiring beechwood-smoked malt from Bamberg, Germany. That doesn't necessarily mean the nose is authentically rauchbier-like... but it is. Smoke is on the subtle side, which will please some and disappoint others. This is shaping up to be a finesse rauch rather than a raunchy rauch.

The flavor proves that point. Rauchfetzen will not cause smoke to roll out of the drinker's mouth and nose, like the Aecht Schlenkerla beers. In terms of smokiness, it's more in line with that brewery's weizen than with the two bigger, smokier offerings. There will be no comparison to 'liquid bacon' where this ale is concerned.

There can't be much Munich malt present, since toasted-earthy-nutty notes are few and far between. There's probably more hop flavor and bitterness (Hallertau, Brewer's Gold) than is proper for the style, but this hophead definitely approves. In the final reckoning, the words that keep entering my head are 'balance' and 'classy'. 100 Barrel Series #25 is one well-brewed beer.

The body/mouthfeel holds up its end of the bargain. It's at least light-medium, has plenty of hang-on, and is nicely carbonated. There's a sparkly quality that, due to well-buried bubbles, doesn't even approach fizzy.

Rauchfetzen (German for 'wisp of smoke') contains exactly that. It's gentle enough for the uninitiated and is smoky enough for fans of the style... as long as they don't expect to be bombarded. This is a delicious, drinkable rauchbier and is one of Harpoon's finest releases to date. (1,791 characters)

22oz brown bottle with a foil top covering the cap and neck of the bottle. No freshness date to be found.

Clear amber color with a thick crowing of white lace on the glass. Substantial amount of smoke in the nose, loving it as well. A bit of bready malt and spicy herbal hop in the aroma as well. Crisp carbonation unfold a quick smoothness within the medium body, snappy. Bit of carbonate or salt on the tip of the tongue with smoke blanketing the palate. Dry malt character has a lot to show even if it is slightly masked by the smoke, from bready to very grainy. Hops are not shy with a quick sharpness that cuts right through, smoke dimms in the dry finish but still holds on.

If you are not heading to Bamberg in the near future this is a fresh glimse, American rendition, of what some of the smoke beers taste like from that region of Germany. Great job here. (867 characters)

This was a bit not quite what I expected, although this is not necessarily a bad thing. Many people do not like rauchbiers in general; "oooh, tastes like ham" &c...but I for one, like them in the proper setting (good cheese, meat, maybe some pea-soup). This Rauchfetzen 100 Barrel Series poured thinner than I expected, but smooth, into a nice hazy, dark gold with off-white & decent head and lace. The aroma definitely had the smoked beer aroma, but milder than I thought, and also offered up a malt-yeast & wet potato smell, odd...The flavor was a more mild smoke, that lodged gently in your nose at the end of a sip. Otherwise, full malts & enough hops rounded out the taste. Lighter in body than i thought as well and more carbonated...definitely enjoyable alone or as several. Rauchbier fans may dismiss this as weak, but non-fans will have the opportunity to enjoy a bit of the rauch, and hopefully not fear the smoker. (925 characters)

Pours clear with particulates and golden in color. Good retention of the head and excellent lacing. Floral, starchy, (specifcally smells like rice), and smokey flavors. Tastes included a smoky umami, but it's very subtle. Reminiscient of gouda cheese, but not overdone. Really thick and velvety. Pleasant level of carbonation ably brings out flavor. Flavors that are not overpowering make this brew quite drinkable - even sessionable.

Overall: Doesn't punch you in the face... Which is such a relief. I was expecting (and fearing) an overbearing smokey flavor, but was pleasantly surprised by its subtlety. (622 characters)

Poured from a bomber into an imperial pint glass. Body is notably translucent, an orange to ruby color. The body is active with carbonation and light sediment moving around. A small filmy head emerges, almost a bluish white. Below average lacing. Aroma is quite sweet in nature, sugary malts. Some light spice in the background.

Brew enters the mouth with a perfect medium feel. This pleasantness is quickly put aside, as a chlorine flavor hits the palate. Flavors immediately mellow out into a nice barley backdrop, lots of bready notes. Some slight earthly hops round it out. Mouthfeel leaves some smokiness and some spiciness.

Underwhelmed by this, as it doesn't do much for me. The chemical notes do go away as the brew warms, but flavors fail to emit a real smokey punch. (778 characters)